Black like me? How do African American women see themselves in media?

Essence is the leading African American media brand in the U.S, with a 40 year history that mirrors the ascent of African American women in US society.

The brand has served as an aspirational source of news, advice and entertainment, but as our breakthrough study in partnership with Essence showed, the dominant typologies seen in most media today are often negative; “The Gold-Digger”, “Angry Black Woman” or “Modern Jezebel”.

To help advertisers understand how to reach the AA Woman, Essence reveals the emotional impact of such images and the aspiration for more positive typologies like “Young Phenom” that are more accurate reflections of where black women are today.